Unrestricted state walleye record broken

PIERRE, S.D. – Anglers across the Midwest dream of breaking a state walleye record. For a Bridgewater, S.D., diver that dream came true when he broke the unrestricted walleye record.

Thomas Redlin speared a 14-pound, 4-ounce walleye while spear fishing in Lake Oahe on Oct. 16. The fish was 31 inches in length and had a maximum girth of 21 inches.

“It is an impressive fish,” said Geno Adams, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks fisheries program manager. “In the fall, walleyes tend to increase their food intake, and this fish clearly had been eating well.”

The previous unrestricted (taken by any legal means other than hook and line) state walleye record was held by David Graves. Graves speared a 12-pound, 15-ounce walleye in Lake Oahe in 1991.

For a fish to be considered for a state record, anglers must follow the guidelines on the South Dakota State Record Fish Application, found at online.

For a list of South Dakota’s state record fish, visit the GFP website.

About Author

Seth Tupper was born and raised in South Dakota and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from South Dakota State University in 2001. After college, he worked at a newspaper in Minnesota and then returned to South Dakota in 2003 to join the staff of The Daily Republic in Mitchell, where he is currently the publisher. Seth has won numerous awards for his writing, including the 2007 Outstanding Young Journalist award in the daily newspapers category of the South Dakota Newspaper Association's Better Newspapers Contest. Seth's day-job and freelance work have granted him opportunities to meet hundreds of South Dakotans and travel across much of the state. He also spends a lot of his free time exploring South Dakota's state and national parks, hiking trails and kayak-friendly rivers.

About Us

The state of South Dakota is renowned for its rolling hills, fertile farm country, and sweeping plains bisected by scenic lakes and streams. Its many major national attractions— Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, the Black Hills, and Badlands National Park, to name a few—make South Dakota the destination of a steady stream of tourists each year.

Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the breathtaking scenery and history of Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Bear Butte State Park, Palisades, and other wilderness preserves.